Location: Room XII – The Windrose Room
This canvas is testimony to Ferdinand Maximilian’s two-year stay in the lagoon city (from 1857 to 1859), when he filled the role of Governor General of Lombardy-Venetia, splitting his time between Venice, Milan and Monza.
The artist took nearly a year to create this large canvas, originally destined for Maximilian’s apartments in Venice, to then be sent to Miramare Castle. Two additional copies of the painting exist: one in Venice and one in Milan, both made by Caffi himself and featuring slight compositional differences.
It is said that the work represents evening festivities held in honour of Maximilian and Charlotte on 2 August 1857. However, according to Venetian documents relating to the archduke’s stay in La Serenissima, the subject is actually the nocturnal return of Maximilian and his wife from a party held on the Venice Lido. The imperial couple definitely was in Venice in summer 1857 for the inauguration of a public promenade along the water near Saint Mark’s Square, which was followed by a celebration with fireworks. The artist was there for the event and Maximilian commissioned the painting to give it to his wife as a gift the following year.
In the painting, the façades of the buildings overlooking the water near Saint Mark’s Square reflect the glow of lanterns, fires and firework displays, acting as a perspective-creating backdrop to the festivities taking place on the calm, mirror-like water of the lagoon. Crowds occupy the edge of the promenade, joined by countless gondolas which have been lit up and decorated for the occasion. Other boats appear off in the distance, while a cloudy sky frames the scene.
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